


The Family Deal

by Ebenbild



Series: The Granger Relation [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Family, Gen, Long Lost/Secret Relatives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-02-06 02:21:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12807534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebenbild/pseuds/Ebenbild
Summary: “Wait, stop!” Tony exclaimed in disbelief. “I’m birdbrain’s brother? Why wasn’t I warned about that?”Tony finds out he has more siblings than he remembers.Accompanying piece to 'Confession Time'. Mostly based on Avengers movie.





	1. Brother, Brother

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Not mine, sadly…  
> Placing: After Hogwarts and the first Avenger movie.  
> Accompanying piece to “Confession Time”, sequel to “Family Oddness” and “Birthday Presents”

* * *

# CHAPTER I

# Brother, Brother

 

* * *

 

“Sir,” JARIVS spoke up while Tony Stark was tinkering with his Iron Man armour.

Tony looked up from the armour’s left leg he was currently working on.

“What’s up, J?” He asked while wondering why the A.I. had decided to interrupt him when he had explicitly said that he didn’t wanted to be interrupted for the next five hours.

“Your brother wishes to speak with you, Sir,” JARVIS replied.

“Hmm,” Tony said a bit distractedly. “What does Myc want this time around?”

Mycroft Holmes, oldest of Tony’s half-brothers, could be quite bothersome when it came to unreasonable wishes – at least that was what Tony thought. The last time he had called him, he had wished for Tony to eradicate their baby sister’s school – just to pull back from his request shortly before Tony had been done with choosing the weapon he wanted to use to do it!

Yes, sometimes, Mycroft was quite unreasonable with his requests…

“It’s not your brother Mycroft who’s wishing to speak with you, Sir,” JARVIS corrected Tony in that moment. “It’s your brother Sherlock.”

That got Tony’s attention.

It wasn’t often that Sherlock called – and he never did it without a very dire reason…

So there was just one reaction to a call like that for Tony – even if he had wished for some time alone since the day before yesterday.

“Patch him through, J,” Tony said.

“Immediately, Sir,” the A.I. said before one of the lights in the ceiling flashed to indicate that he was now on line with Sherlock. Obviously, Sherlock was calling from a phone that couldn’t transmit video signal as well.

Tony mentally noted to ensure that the phone Sherlock currently used would be exchanged with a StarkPhone as soon as possible, before he spoke up with somewhat false cheer in his voice. He always feared Sherlock’s calls, because they normally meant that his baby brother was lying somewhere half-dead or stone out of his mind and Mycroft was preoccupied with something else, currently.

Never a pleasant situation if you were a whole ocean away and unable to do anything to actually help the pleading brother on the other side of the line…

So Tony had always added a false cheer into his voice to calm down the one brother he dreaded to hear from.

“Sherley!” He greeted Sherlock quite enthusiastically. “What can I do for my second favourite half-brother?”

The answer he got was somehow soothing.

“Anthony!” Tony could hear his mother reprimanding him from Sherlock’s side of the line. Obviously, his brother was safely at home with their mother. Tony mentally exchanged his note about changing Sherlock’s phone towards changing his mother’s house phone. He didn’t know what kind of phone his parents currently used, but it. HAD. TO. GO!

While thinking those thoughts, Tony’s mouth answered the reprimand of his birth-mother automatically.

“Sorry, Mummy,” he said not at all sounding sorry. “No favourites, I know, I know!”

Someone on Sherlock’s side snorted in amusement at that exclamation.

Obviously, Sherlock wasn’t just with their mother – the only parent Tony and his brothers shared, considering that Tony’s father was Howard Stark and his brothers’ father was Siger Holmes – and no, Tony definitely wasn’t the product of an affair between his mother and Howard. Instead, Tony’s mother had done Tony’s parents a favour when she acquiesced to be a surrogate mother for her sister’s child after Howard and Maria Stark had found out that Maria was barren.

Of course, considering that Tony’s birth-mother had been Tony’s adopted mother’s sibling, the two sisters had decided that he would grow up knowing how he was conceived and also knowing that he had some siblings.

Sometimes, Tony wished that his parents had never told him the truth…

“So what can I do for one of my equally beloved brothers?” He corrected himself at his mother’s reprimand while continuing to tinker with the armour leg he had been working on before.

“Hermione came home,” Sherlock explained.

Tony blinked, then crawled underneath the table his armour leg was lying on to correct something on the backside of the knee of his armour.

“Ah!” he replied, understanding instantly why Sherlock called. There was just one reason why Sherlock would bother to call after their baby sister came home. “Which one do we have to take out?”

Someone huffed in the background.

Tony recognised that voice instantly.

“That was Myc?” Tony asked and part of the mechanics of the knee hit the floor after he had removed them from their previous place in the armour.

“It was, darling,” his mother told him with warmth in her voice.

Tony couldn’t remember when the last time had been, Mycroft had huffed like that…

The meeting with Hermione’s boyfriend must have been an absolute catastrophe to gain that kind of reaction from Mycroft.

“Huh,” Tony said and another part of the armour hit the floor. “That bad? If you need the cavalry you’ll have to wait a bit. I’m currently taking apart my Ironman suit.”

“Actually,” his mother’s new husband, the man Tony had started to call ‘Daddy’ the first time he actually met him, up from the background. “We weren’t yet ready to eradicate the boy. Hermione still hangs on him a bit.”

Sherlock huffed, obviously not in agreement with that statement.

Tony wasn’t surprised.

When Mycroft was willing to voice his displeasure, than the boy must have been extraordinary terrible…

And obviously, when his siblings called after meeting the boy, there was something they wanted from Tony.

“So what can I do?” Tony asked while contemplating if he should stop with taking apart the armour and instead should start with putting it back together.

Sherlock huffed again.

“Mycroft promised not to send Daddy’s sons after Ronald,” he said with an eye-roll that even translated through the phone-line.

Someone snorted amused, but Tony didn’t even bother to ask who else was in the room with Sherlock and instead concentrated on the necessary things.

“Whom do I send?” He wanted to know.

For a moment, there was silence on the other side of the phone, than a foreign voice could be heard asking: “Why are you all looking at me?”

This time, Tony actually asked the question he had in mind since he had heard the voice through the phone the first time.

“Who are you?” He wanted to know.

“Er… John Watson,” the voice answered a bit embarrassed. “I guess we’re something akin to step-brothers?”

Tony blinked surprised at his armour – then he recalled that Daddy had had other children before he married Tony’s mother as well…

“Ah!” Tony said. “You’re one of Daddy’s children.”

“Er… yes,” John said.

Well – there was just one reason why his other brothers had been looking at John after calling Tony…

Tony, after all, knew how his siblings’ brains worked.

“And the ones I have to contact are Daddy’s children as well,” he concluded. “So tell me, whom do I contact?”

For a second or two, there was perplexed silence on the other side of the phone, then John got over it and answered the question.

“Either William Brandt of IMF – tell him to bring his twin,” he explained. “Or Clinton Barton of SHIELD – the same message.”

“Well, that should be easy,” Tony thought and was mentally already formulating his request to JARVIS to track down either of the names – when it actually hit him what John had just told him, leaving him dazed and a bit horrified.

“Wait, stop!” Tony exclaimed in disbelief. “I’m _birdbrain_ ’s brother? Why wasn’t I warned about _that_?”

Of course, the only answer he got from John was: “Huh? You know Clint?”

That didn’t do at all!

“Of course I know _birdbrain_! Haven’t you watch the news?!” Tony exclaimed agitated, thinking about the archer he had worked with just a few weeks ago while keeping the world save from an alien invasion. “You know, the whole ‘aliens in New York debacle’ that was all over the news for the last three weeks?”

For a moment, there was silence on the other side of the phone line; then John answered.

“We heard about the aliens,” John said. “And we heard about you being involved – but there was no word that Clint was involved as well.”

Tony frowned confused, but then, JARVIS showed him some muted clips of the news, some records of SHIELD’s and some newspaper articles and Tony remembered.

“Ah, yeah. Forgot that SHIELD pushed the names of their agents and every video material of them under the rug…,” Tony said before continuing with more important things. “Anyway… since birdbrain’s only mopping around the tower it might be a good idea to send him over. Especially if he’s with his twi… wait! Birdbrain has a _twin_?!”

Tony guessed that tinkering and phoning with his brother didn’t do him any good. The armour in front of him had distracted him far too much if he missed until now that birdbrain was a twin!

“Er… yes,” was the answer, which brought Tony to an interesting fact. If he didn’t know about Clint’s twin… did Fury know?

“Hey! Does the pirate know?” He asked, suddenly excited about all the possibilities that came with the pirate not knowing anything…

For a moment, there was silence on the other side of the line. Then Mycroft decided to answer that question of Tony…

“I made sure that there are absolutely no connections between any of us,” he said. “I may have not met the twins, but I have protected them since Mummy remarried.”

“Fabulous!” Tony said. “I always wanted to prank the pirate!”

Plans whirled through his head, distracting him from the original call – at least until Mummy spoke up again.

“Not now, darling,” she said and Tony sighed, a bit put out.

“Of course not, Mummy,” he acquiesced. “Don’t worry. I’ll pack the twins and we’ll be in Britain within the next three days.”

“Splendid!” Sherlock exclaimed and ended the call immediately.

Tony snorted amused.

_Typically Sherlock!_

He shook his head and then looked up at the ceiling.

“J,” he said.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Call Clint down here,” Tony said. “I’ll have to tell him the news…”

“Of course, Sir,” the A.I. replied.

It was then, that the true news of the day finally hit Tony, leaving him standing stunned in the middle of his work room…

He had finished his conversation with his brother Sherlock and now - quite suddenly in his opinion - he felt overwhelmed. It wasn't the fact that Hermione's boyfriend had acquired his brothers' wrath - that was something he had long since waited for - no, it was the fact that he had another brother... _lived with another brother!..._ that left him stumped and overwhelmed.

Since the invasion of New York a few weeks ago, Tony had slowly started to learn how to share part of his living space with other people.

 

At the beginning, nothing of that kind had been planned. They all had eaten shawarma and then gone their own ways - just meeting again for a short time to ensure that Loki truly left earth with his brother. After that, Captain America had left on his motorcycle, the assassins had left together as well and Tony had taken Bruce home to his tower.

Sharing the tower solely with Bruce had been relaxing. The man was a genius as well and Tony loved to discuss science with him.

And then Natasha Romanoff had knocked on Tony's door, her face grim and a pale and nearly lifeless archer in tow.

"Stark," she said the moment she saw him. "You need to take in Barton. If he stays at SHIELD, they will kill him, in the end."

Barton next to her snorted, but his gaze was unfocused and his face drawn, with skin as pale as a ghost's.

"They wouldn't kill me," he slurred. "I survived worse."

Romanoff shot her partner a disbelieving look and then basically threw him at Tony.

"Look after him, Stark," she told him. "And ensure that SHIELD doesn't get their hands on him again."

With that she left, leaving Tony standing with a new tenant in his arms.

“Y’don’t have t’ look after me, Stark,” Barton had slurred while leaning on him. “I’ll jus’ go home.”

Somehow, it had been those words that had shaken Tony out of his surprise.

The moment, Barton had uttered those words, Tony had immediately felt like refusing Barton’s request – something that he normally only did when it came to Sherlock, Sherrinford or Hermione when they were unreasonable. When it were others, even Pepper or Rhodney, Tony actually never bothered to change their minds when they had it made up.

_But Barton?_

_There was something different with him…_

Back then, Tony had guessed that it was the stubborn look on Barton’s face – a look that reminded him far too much of Hermione’s to feel comfortable with it – that decided Barton’s fate.

Tony simply hadn’t been able to stand by when the man leaning on him looked at him with the same stubborn and lost look Hermione had had ever since she was small when she wanted something but didn’t dare to ask for it.

So in the end, Tony had listened to Romanoff and taken in Clint - even if said man hadn't been happy at all and had been brooding ever since.

_Of course, it hadn't ended with that._

 

No, just two days later, Captain America stood in front of his door, his face dark with fury - an expression, Tony would have never guessed to find on the Captain's face.

"I'm staying here," the man declared icily the moment Tony opened the door.

Tony raised an eyebrow at the other man.

"Any reason why you want to stay with somebody you can't stand?" Tony asked frowning.

Steve Rogers just glared at him.

"Worshipping the ground I walk on while damning a man who was basically enslaved by Loki," Steve Rogers grounded out. "If I stay there another minute, I will forget myself and kill somebody!"

Tony blinked and quietly wondered what was actually going on in SHIELD that first Romanoff had to save her partner and then Captain America himself stormed out on them.

For a moment, Tony stared at the man in front of him, then Captain America huffed.

"Will you let me in, Stark?" He asked and Tony stepped aside without a second thought.

 

Two days later, the Black Widow also came to stay – and with her, he couldn’t even say when she moved it. She simply was there on morning and didn’t leave again…

That had been three weeks ago and since then, Fury had been after Tony's ass to return his assets - especially his marksman who hadn't left the tower since he was brought there by the Widow - to him immediately.

 

Until now, Tony had ignored the other man with the understanding that there would be soon a day when he would give in and force Barton to return to SHIELD.

And until a few minutes ago, Tony wouldn't have felt bad about the fact or guilty in any way or form...

It was then, that Tony was pulled out of his musings by his A.I..

"Sir," JARVIS spoke up in that second. "Director Fury is calling you."

Tony blinked and looked up from the piece of armour he had been looking at while deep in thought since his sudden realization about Clint a few minutes ago.

"Tell him I'm occupied," Tony said.

For a moment, there was silence, then JARVIS spoke up again.

"Sir," the A.I. said. "He insists on speaking with you."

Tony frowned.

Normally, he would just ignore the other man further - but this time, he couldn't risk it if it meant that Fury would come by the tower to see Tony - a tower which was used by Clint for hiding.

It was odd how priorities changed, Tony mused. Maybe just a few minutes ago he wouldn't have cared about Clint at all and challenged Fury further just because he could - yet now, Tony would prefer to kill himself to hurting Clint Barton further...

“Well,” Tony mused. “Maybe I would have fought for Barton even if I hadn’t known… he _has_ Hermione’s puppy dog eyes after all – even if his are blue and not brown…”

Tony decided to refuse to think about it further. He didn’t even want to know how much he had been wrapped around Clint’s little finger without knowing even before he had found out that the other man was his brother.

Maybe it was better that Barton had turned out his brother – Tony hated showing anybody his soft side who wasn’t family…

Anyway, it wasn’t time to think about maybes right now. There was a call to disregard or to answer – and Tony simply couldn’t disregard the call if it meant that his brother might end up in the cross fire…

"Alright, J," Tony said unhappily. "I'll take the call."

 

A few seconds later, Fury spoke up from the other side of the line.

"Finally starting to see some reason, Stark?" He growled. "So you're willing to return my asset to me?"

Oddly enough, hearing Clint called Fury's anything send seething hot rage through Tony's body – and it was Clint’s name he heard, even if Fury had never mentioned it.

"Clint," Tony pressed out, using his brother’s first name for the first time – not even thinking about it while doing so. "Isn't your anything, Fury. He'll stay here as long as he wants and _you_ , Director, will cease to bother either him or me or anybody else about his return if you ever want it to happen - do you understand me, Fury?"

For a second, there was silence on the other side of the line.

Then Fury cursed.

Obviously, that wasn’t the response Fury had expected – but then, Fury had only ever met Tony, the billionaire and philanthropist and never Ant, family member of one of the most unusual families in the world and big brother.

"What the fuck, Stark?" He growled. "Have you played with some chemicals that addled your brain or what happened to you?!"

Tony bared his teeth at nobody.

Fury might not know it – but currently he was tethering a line he didn’t even knew existed. Tony Stark might be well known and well feared for his weapons and mind in the world, but Ant Stark, née Holmes, was the true danger to anybody threatening his family…

So, there was a reason, while Tony reacted a lot more aggressive than his official persona ever would.

"Nothing happened to me, Fury," he growled back. "I've just enough of your constant meddling. Barton is under my protection - and if you don't cease to bother me, I will ensure that he will be forever out of your reach!"

Fury scoffed.

"Barton is my asset and -"

"Which will change immediately," Tony replied harshly. "You will hear from my legal apartment in that regard."

"I'm quite sure that Barton will also have a say in that, Stark," Fury replied icily.

Tony just scoffed.

If Fury thought that he could stop Tony from getting what he wanted – then he was mistaken. Tony would never sit by and watch somebody else rule over the life of one of his siblings.

Tony bared his teeth at the armour when he replied.

“Doesn’t matter, Fury,” he said. “You have even less to say about that.”

The answer was a sigh.

“Barton is my asset, Stark,” Fury said coolly. “Don’t force me to use my legal apartment to get him back.”

Tony frowned.

“Are you threatening me?” He asked the other man with narrowed eyes.

“And what if I am, Stark?” Fury replied icily.

“You’ll regret it,” Tony answered matter of factly.

The answer was a humourless barking laugh from Fury.

“Barton is my asset, Stark,” he said, sounding oddly amused. “And you have no say in his placement at all! The only one who might have a say is Barton – and he will come back voluntary the moment he hears that I wish him to return. And there’s nothing you can do about it, Stark!”

Tony growled.

He might have thought about stepping aside in the past after that declaration – but that was before he had found out that he was related to Barton.

Now, Tony would never let the other man go back to an agency he was treated like he had been at SHIELD.

Fortunately, Tony had another ace up his sleeve – one that Fury would think twice to cross…

 

"It doesn’t matter,” Tony countered. “I'm quite sure that Mycroft will ensure that you won’t get Clint back the moment he hears how Clint's been treated by your staff.”

For a moment, there was silence on the other side of the line.

Then Fury spoke up slowly and clearly.

"Mycroft?" he repeated that name with caution and a bit of dread in his voice.

Tony grinned maliciously at the ceiling.

Obviously, Fury hadn’t expected that name to crop up in any conversation with Tony…

"I'm quite sure we're talking about the same Holmes, Fury," he said, feeling vicious pleasure by making feel Fury uncomfortable. "So think twice about threatening me. I might be inclined to pack my stuff, Clint and the rest of the Avengers and bring them to Britain and out of your clutches if you don't cease to hunt for Clint."

Silence – then Fury scoffed.

"You have no say in the life of my asset, Stark," he replied sharply. "And I doubt that Holmes would endanger our working relationship just because a Stark is pissed at me! We've worked together for decades now - that's nothing Holmes would endanger just like that!"

Tony laughed, harshly and coldly.

"Mycroft might be one of the biggest assholes in the whole universe," he said harshly. "But unlike you - I'm one of those he will believe without a second thought. So you have the choice: you give Barton to me, or I'll ensure that Mycroft comes and gets him."

And Tony would.

He never made any empty promises when it came to family.

"This is no joking matter, Stark!" Fury growled. "I actually don't want to know how you found out about Holmes - but I ensure you that you won't have an easy time to contact him or get him on your side, Stark!"

For a moment, Tony stared at the ceiling, fighting his mirth tempered by his anger at the blindness of the man on the other side of the line then his eyes narrowed at the implied threat of the other man.

"You will hear from my legal department, Fury - and I dare you not to accept their offer," with that he turned his attention towards JARVIS. "Hang up, J."

"As you wish, Sir," JARVIS said.

"Stark! Don't you fucking dare to -"

The line cut off and Tony turned back to his armour - just to meet a stunned archer's eyes. The man was standing in the doorway, staring at Tony as if he had grown a second head.

Tony returned the archer's stunned look evenly, not even thinking about trying to cover up his actions in any way or form.

 

* * *

 


	2. Brothers And Deals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony tries to explain it to Clint... or something like that, at least.

* * *

# CHAPTER II:

# Brothers And Deals

 

* * *

 

"What the hell? Stark!" one Clint Barton finally exclaimed and stepped inside Tony Stark’s work room. He couldn’t fathom what he had heard just now. "Was that Fury you just cut off and threatened?!"

Tony Stark shrugged.

He didn’t feel guilty at all for threatening the man who had threatened Tony and his family first.

Still, he guessed he had at least to tell Clint about Fury’s demands…

"He's after you," Tony said. "Something about you being his asset or some such."

 

It was something that Clint had expected weeks ago – but that didn’t mean that he liked to hear it. He might have brooded for the last weeks, but at the same time he still had felt grateful to Tony for taking him in and giving him a place to live after he had lost his previous one to the prejudice of the remaining SHIELD personal – something nobody else but Natasha and Tony had done anything about…

Still, he didn’t believe for one second that Stark would try to keep Fury away from Clint the moment Fury started to pressure Tony to give back Clint.

Clint gulped and then scratched his head nervously.

"I guess that means vacation time is over and I'll have to return to HQ," he said, sounding defeated.

To his surprise, Tony snorted.

"No," he said. "That means that my legal department will get their hands on your contract with SHIELD as fast as possible."

Clint stared at the billionaire as if he had lost his mind.

"Stark," he started to say, but Tony cut him off immediately.

"It's either Tony or Ant," he interrupted the other man.

Clint blinked confused.

"Ant?" He repeated surprised.

Tony looked at Clint expectantly. Clint didn’t actually know how to interpret that kind of look – something that he had never seen on Tony’s face ever before. In the end, he decided to go with the most pressing question he had.

"Why Ant?" Clint asked confused.

Tony shrugged.

"That's what I've always been called," he replied.

Clint snorted.

"I'm quite aware that Pepper calls you Tony, Stark," He pointed out.

Tony frowned at Clint.

"Ant," he corrected the other man. "For you, Ant, Clint."

Clint shuddered. Until now, he had never ever heard Tony address him with anything but his last name or some silly nick name. It sounded spooky to be called by Tony with his first name…

"You're a bit creepy right now, St..." he stopped at Tony's pointed gaze and corrected himself. "Ant."

Tony nodded approvingly.

“Good boy,” he told Clint and Clint wondered since when Tony had started to confuse him with a dog. But then, maybe it explained why the billionaire had been willing to take Clint in in the first place…

 

Before Clint could think further about it, Tony continued speaking.

“And now, listen, Clint, will you?” He said. “There’s some very important secret stuff I have to tell you…”

Clint blinked.

“Er… I’m Clint, not Pepper, St… Ant,” he told the billionaire, quite aware that the only person Tony Stark might share secrets with was his C.E.O.

Tony frowned at him.

“Of course you are,” he said and even if there was no disbelief in his voice, Clint interpreted it in it anyway.

“Honestly, Sta… Ant, I mean it,” Clint said. “I’m not Pepper – and I’m definitely not someone you want to share your secrets with!”

Tony waved it off.

“J called you,” he said as if that explained everything – and especially why he wanted to tell Clint his secrets. “It’s fine.”

Clint just stared at Tony in disbelief.

 

 _JARVIS_ _called_ _him_ _so_ _it_ _was_ **_fine_** _?!_

Clint had known that Tony was eccentric, but this took the cake!

_He simply wanted to tell Clint because his A.I. called **Clint** instead of Pepper?!_

He somehow expected that JARVIS might have called the wrong person in – and Clint was definitively the wrong one...

 

"Maybe JARVIS should have called Pepper instead of me..."

Tony snorted.

"Pepper might be my girlfriend - but there're things that I don't even share with her," Tony said amused.

 _Well_ _– that_ _at_ _least told Clint that Pepper didn’t know everything as well… but it definitely didn’t explain why **Clint** was there!_

Clint raised an eyebrow at the other man.

“So, you just decided to tell it to some random person your A.I. chose for you?” Clint tried to understand the billionaire.

Tony, of course, waved it off.

“Of course not,… Clint,” he said. “I don’t chose people randomly. I always decide very seriously who gets to know one of my secrets.”

_There was just one thing Clint could say to insanity like that…_

"And you choose to tell those things me?" He asked, disbelief in his voice.

Tony shrugged.

 

"Normally I'd say you were born to suffer my brilliance... but in your case..." Tony stared at him thoughtfully. "Ah, well, let's keep it with 'you were born to suffer my brilliance'!"

Clint stared at Tony as if he had lost his mind.

Yes, that was the only explanation that somehow actually fit.

 _Tony…_ **_Ant_ ** **_!_ ** _... must have lost his mind today._

For a moment, Clint didn’t know what to reply, then he decided to settle for the obvious.

"Maybe Barney could have said that - but you -"

Tony pouted.

"I'm Anthony Siger Edward Stark! Of course I'm allowed to say something brilliant like that!"

_Siger?_

Clint dismissed it and snorted.

"Your name has nothing to do with your allowance to tell me 'I was born to suffer your brilliance'!" He told the billionaire with a sigh. "I'm quite sure that that's something only my brother could say."

Tony wiggled his eyebrow at Clint.

"So... Barney, you said?" He asked.

Clint inclined his head.

"Barney," he agreed – he was the only brother known to SHIELD, after all.

Tony looked at Clint slyly and suddenly, dread filled Clint’s stomach.

 

"So... Will would be allowed to say that to you as well?" Tony asked interested. "Or John?"

Clint nodded.

"Yeah, those two... too," he stopped shortly before ending the sentence with a suspicious look on his face. "How do you know about Will and John, Stark? There's no known connection between us and even SHIELD doesn't know about them!"

Of course, the only answer he got was a non-committal one.

Tony shrugged.

"It's Ant," he corrected Clint. "And John gave me Will's name."

 

_John?_

_John would never give an unknown Clint’s name and he would not even think about giving away their connection to a person he didn’t trust!_

 

So, Clint did the only thing he could that was as non-committal as Tony’s: He raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"And of course you know John good enough that he'd tell you his brothers’ names without a second thought," he said sarcastically.

"I actually never met John," Tony corrected with a shrug. "I only know that Myc and Sherley are in contact with him and that you and Will are born to suffer my brilliance!"

Clint raised an eyebrow, then his eyes narrowed.

“That doesn’t explain how you know my brother,” he said, suspicion in his eyes. “Who else knows about John and Will?”

Tony shrugged.

“I guess at least Mycroft and Sherlock,” he said truthfully.

Clint’s eyes widened.

 

_Mycroft?_

_As in Mycroft Holmes?!_

The _Mycroft Holmes, the man who was the British government?!_

_As in Nick Fury’s British counterpart?!_

 

“Holmes?” He asked faintly, clearly able to at least place the name ‘Mycroft’.

Tony grinned.

“Holmes,” he confirmed.

Clint frowned.

“That’s not good,” he said. “If Holmes knows, there’s a chance that Fury does – and I can’t have any connection with my family. It only would endanger –“

Clint cut off before he could say anything further, but Tony already guessed what the other man had wanted to say.

 

“Hermione,” Tony finished the sentence.

 

Clint immediately reached to his back, his hand grabbing his knife, hidden there. It was an automatic reaction – one that he couldn’t suppress and didn’t want to at all…

 

 _Tony_ _Stark_ _knew_ _about_ _his_ _baby_ _sister_ _–_ _and_ _Clint_ _would_ _do_ _everything_ _to_ _keep_ _his_ _baby_ _sister_ _safe_ _…_ _even_ _if_ _it_ _meant_ _to_ _kill_ _Tony_ _Stark_ _in_ _the_ _middle_ _of_ _his_ _own_ _work_ _room_ _after_ _the_ _man_ _took_ _Clint_ _in_ _and_ _helped_ _him…_

 

 

 

* * *

 


	3. Dealings All Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony explains some more...

* * *

 

# CHAPTER III

# Dealings All Around

 

* * *

 

 

Tony Stark saw Clint’s eyes widen and saw how his hand wandered to his back – Tony was sure that the other man had a knife hidden away there and that the defensive reaction was utterly uncontrolled on Clint’s side.

Tony raised his hands anyway.

“Don’t worry ‘bout me knowing, Clint,” he said. “I would never hurt ‘Mione in any way or form.”

_That reminded him…_

Before Clint could actually say anything to Tony’s last exclamation, Tony continued.

“By the way – ‘Mione brought home her boyfriend,” he said, changing the subject.

Clint frowned, then his eyes narrowed, now clearly distracted by Tony’s words.

“The redhead?” He asked, clearly not even considering anymore the implications that Tony knew about Hermione. “Rowling? Robert? Roland?”

“Ronald,” Tony corrected grimacing. “Ronald Weatherby or something like that…”

“Weasley,” Clint replied with narrowed eyes. “That boy’s name is Weasley.”

For a moment, Clint and Tony looked at each other with similar distaste in their expressions.

“I can’t believe she decided to get involved with him after fourth year!” Clint said with clenched teeth.

Tony snorted.

“I had to cancel a meeting with S.I. after that Yule ball,” he said unhappily. “I actually had to fly to Britain just to calm down Mycroft _before_ he launched one of my missiles at that boy and destroyed ‘Mione’s school by default – and that was after he held me back in eradicating that boy with my own supplies before I finished choosing my weapons and after he asked me to do so in the first place…”

Clint snorted.

“Well,” he said amused. “At least you only had to keep back one. If John hadn’t been, that boy would have had three spies after him – including me.”

Tony blinked.

“Three?” He repeated confused. “You, Will and who?”

“James,” Clint said and waved it off. “He’s older than John, but John’s the calmer and more reasonable one. He keeps us all somewhat on the right side of the law.”

_There was_ **another** _one Tony didn’t know about?!_

Then something else caught Tony’s attention.

He raised an eyebrow at Clint.

“As far as I know, you’re an assassin, Clint,” Tony pointed out logically. “You kill people for a living. I’m not sure that that counts as ‘on the right side of the law’.”

Clint shrugged, clearly not bothered by the accusation.

“There’s a reason why I said ‘somewhat’,” he countered.

Then his eyes narrowed at Tony, obviously remembering their former discussion.

“But that all doesn’t explain what you and Mycroft _Holmes_ have to do with my sister!” He said, distrust returning to his eyes.

Tony shrugged.

“She’s _my_ sister,” he said and waved it off. “You have to contact Will. Myc, Sherley and John have planned something for ‘Mione’s boyfriend.”

Clint opened his mouth, clearly about to reply, before closing it, just open it again and then to close it again.

He gawked like a fish.

Tony reached out and closed his baby brother’s mouth.

“Keep your mouth shut or you’ll eat flies,” he told Clint.

The assassin’s eyes narrowed at Tony.

“ _Your_ sister?” He repeated Tony’s words.

Tony just looked at Clint.

“ _My_ sister,” he confirmed. “We share a mother.”

Clint frowned.

“I thought your mother was Maria Stark?” He asked a bit confused.

_Well – that was what the whole world thought. Not even Fury and SHIELD knew better – Mycroft had made sure of that before both he and Tony had even reached the double digits…_

_And Tony would have never confessed to his true parentage if it had been anybody else but one of his siblings who asked._

_But since it was Clint…_

“Adopted mother,” Tony corrected him. “Maria was actually biologically my aunt. Mummy, my biological mother, her sister, agreed to surrogate because Mother wasn’t able to have children otherwise. I’m Howard Stark’s and Jane Holmes, now Granger’s biological son.”

Clint blinked, but Tony wasn’t finished.

“And you, Clinton Barton, are actually a Granger as well,” Tony continued. “Even if I have no idea how you ended up with Barton as a last name while one of your brothers is named ‘Watson’ and the other ‘Brandt’.”

Clint just stared, then he shook his head to clear his mind and answered.

“I took Daddy’s first name Brandton and exchanged and erased some letters,” he said truthfully. “The same goes for Will’s last name. John simply took Mother’s original last name when our parents divorced.”

Tony looked at Clint impressed.

“Ingenious,” he said. “So simple – and yet, nobody ever found out that your last name was fake.”

Clint shrugged.

“Clinton Granger is a British citizen, Clinton Barton on the other hand is American,” he replied. “There wasn’t a lot people could have connected if they didn’t know about Clinton Granger in the first place.”

Tony hummed.

Then he smirked at Clint.

“And from now on I will be able to ensure that nobody will ever find out,” he declared.

Clint frowned.

“What do you mean…, Ant?”

Tony shrugged and grinned.

“I’m your brother,” he said smugly. “I’ve every right to protect you.”

Clint frowned.

“We’re not related at all,” Clint pointed out coolly.

Tony shrugged.

“Mummy married Daddy,” he pointed out. “We might be step-brothers – but that doesn’t change anything about the fact that we’re brothers.”

Clint sighed and shook his head.

“We’re not at all related…, Ant,” he said and rolled his eyes. “Even if Daddy married your mother.”

“Mummy,” Tony corrected.

Clint rolled his eyes, but this time with amusement.

“Mummy,” he agreed, obviously not too interested in objecting to that particular correction.

Tony grinned and then finally turned back to his armour on the ground.

“After you agreed that Mummy is your mother as well and since Daddy is my father – it’s obviously clear that you and I are related, Baby Hawk,” he declared smugly.

Clint opened his mouth, but in the end just sighed and finally gave in.

At least, Tony seemed to be back to something akin to normal if he called Clint ‘Baby Hawk’ now…

“Alright,” he said. “Now – can you please tell me why you called me here, Ant?”

Tony blinked, obviously thrown by that comment, but in the end answered anyway.

“We’ve been called to Britain,” he said. “I was told to tell you to call you brother Will and then get your ass to Britain, asap.”

Clint blinked, stunned for a second.

Then he connected the dots and a smirk played over his lips.

“They’re calling us trouble-makers to Britain after meeting ‘Mione’s wrongly chosen boyfriend?” He asked grinning. “That sounds like some fun for my bow!”

Tony returned the grin.

“It might,” he said. “And I’ll go to play with Sherry.”

Clint raised an eyebrow.

“Sherry?” He repeated.

“Sherrinford,” Tony replied. “My younger and your older brother.”

Clint blinked.

“Oh,” he said.

“He’s part of MI6,” Tony continued. “Quartermaster.”

“Oh!” Clint repeated and his eyes started to twinkle with amusement. “Q. James has told me a lot about him. Must have been a shock when they found out they were brothers. ‘Mione at least found it amusing enough to tell me the whole instance repeatedly.”

Tony snorted.

“So that was James?” He asked amused. “Sherry always called him ‘007’ or ‘Bond’.”

Clint snorted amused.

“At least we can amuse us about that together,” he said grinning.

Tony returned the grin.

“There might be other things we might both know and can talk about,” he told Clint. “And we might have some weeks to do so.”

Clint raised an eyebrow.

“And how do we explain our sudden absence from here to the rest of the team?” he asked.

Tony frowned.

“Do you want to lie to them?” He asked.

Clint shrugged.

“Nat will know the truth,” he said. “She has known about my family since I met her. The others… I’m not sure. I don’t know them good enough to decide what we should do.”

Tony shrugged.

“I’m not telling Pepper,” he told his younger brother. “And I think that telling Bruce might be contra-productive – the same with Steve. They might just stop us instead of aid us.”

Clint thought that over.

“You might be right,” he said. “So… we give other reasons to travel to Britain?”

Tony shrugged.

“There’s a conference in London Pepper wants me to go to,” Tony said. “I could use a bodyguard.”

Clint grinned.

“I’m a good bodyguard – and Will might just come to keep me in line,” he told Tony amused.

Tony grinned.

“Then we should tell the others – what do you think?”

 

* * *

 

 

Not two days later, Hermione would stumble upon Tony when she returned to her parents for some books.

Another week later, she would find Clint and Will in their room at her parents’.

“What are you doing here?”

“Holiday,” Will reasoned.

“Bodyguard for Tony,” Clint replied.

Hermione stared at them, disbelief clearly visible in his eyes.

“Uhuh,” she said. “Of course – and that’s the only reason you’re here…”

“Of course,” Clint said, his eyes huge and innocent. “It’s not as if I had time for more. Looking after Tony is a full-time job, after all!”

“Naw,” Will countered. “I’m also here to keep an eye on Clint. I know what he gets up to without me near him, after all!”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at her brothers at that.

“Like shooting arrows at my boyfriend?” She asked suspiciously.

Clint looked at her innocently.

“I would never think about shooting arrows at the boyfriend of my baby sister!” He exclaimed, his eyes wide and as innocent as a baby’s.

Hermione stared at her brother in disbelief.

“You know that I don’t believe that legend that Robin Hood came out of his story and stole some of your arrows to shoot at my boyfriend!” She told them darkly.

The twins exchanged a look.

“Why not?” Clint said innocently. “It seems somewhat reasonable to me, doesn’t it?”

The other twin nodded.

“You’re right, Clint,” he said. “Sounds reasonable.”

Hermione groaned.

“Just,” she said with a sigh. “Stop it – both of you!”

The twins looked at her innocently.

“We’re not doing anything, baby sis,” Clint said and smiled. “But if you don’t like arrows, I could ask Natasha to do it if you’d prefer knives…”

“Clint!”

“Or Ethan,” Will added, smiling as innocently as his brother. “If you don’t want it to be family. He’s still owing me for Croatia.”

“Will!”

“Or me. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about your boyfriend ever again…”

“Antony Edward Stark! Don’t you dare -!”

“Oops…”

 

* * *

 

 

 

 


	4. Deals And Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How the Avengers react...

* * *

#  CHAPTER IV

# Deals And Brothers

 

* * *

 

Convincing the other Avengers of their need to go to Britain, turned out a lot more difficult than expected – and not because they wanted to go to Britain…

“I don’t need four bodyguards!” Tony objected heatedly. “That means that neither Captain America, nor the Widow, nor Hulk will accompanying me!”

“Stark,” Steve Rogers said with a sigh. “Don’t you think that we should stay together that shortly after our first appearance? It would help to be seen by the public as a united front, after all!”

“I don’t care about being seen as a united front!” Tony objected immediately. “I’m solely going to Britain because Pepper wants me to go to that conference – and I will return the moment it ends! There’s no need for you all to come!”

 

“But you’re taking Hawkeye,” Rogers objected.

“Well, yes,” Tony frowned at them. “I take him because I promised Pepper to take a bodyguard – and baby Hawk was alright with working like that for me!”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit counter-productive if others see you using one of your teammates as a bodyguard?” Bruce asked concerned.

 

“Well,” Tony said. “It’s not that I will tell other people that he’s there as my bodyguard. Capsicle said it himself – we need to show a united front. Me being with baby Hawk will show that!”

“If that’s so, then the rest of us can come as well,” Rogers argued immediately.

“No!” Tony objected. “I’m not going to my conference with the whole Avengers in tow!”

“Then you also don’t need Hawkeye as your bodyguard,” Bruce argued.

 

Tony threw a helpless look at his baby brother – just to see him furiously gesturing with the Black Widow. No, not gesturing, Tony corrected himself the next second. Signing.

Obviously, his brother was arguing in sign with the Widow as well.

Tony sighed inwardly and resigned himself to win this argument with the other two alone. He definitely didn’t want to take over Clint’s part right now.

Arguing with the Widow sounded even less appealing than arguing with Hulk and Captain America, after all…

 

* * *

 

 

“Are you crazy?” The Black Widow’s hands spelled furiously. “Why the hell are you accepting a job like that from Stark now, after all what happened to you in the last month? Do you have a death wish?”

Clint winced.

“No,” he signed in reply and before Natasha’s angry hands could build new words, he continued. “This is not what it looks like, Nat.”

The Black Widow frowned.

“So what?” She signed. “You want to tell me that you’re not planning to cross the ocean as Stark’s bodyguard like he’s telling the others right now?”

 

For a moment, Clint blinked at her hands in confusion, then he automatically raised his hands to correct her on Stark’s name.

“T-Ant,” he showed her, before spelling out “Stark” again.

Natasha raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“You’re calling him,” she pointed at Tony. “An ant.”

Clint shrugged.

“It’s his fault,” he signed pouting. “It’s not my fault!”

Natasha looked at him incredulously before looking at Stark again.

“I can’t see an ant in him at all,” she finally signed pointedly.

Clint shrugged and Natasha sighed.

“Alright,” she finally gave in. “If you truly want to call him an ant...”

Clint smiled at her at that.

“Thanks,” he signed.

Natasha just waved it away, before returning to their previous topic.

 

“That doesn’t change the fact that T-Ant is currently telling everybody that he’s taking you with him as a bodyguard to Britain,” she pointed out to him.

“That he is,” Clint agreed.

Natasha frowned at him at that.

“Why?” she signed.

Clint sighed, but decided to stick to the truth as far as he could.

“He’s helping me, actually,” he answered her question.

Natasha raised an eyebrow at that, so Clint elaborated.

 

“He knows my real name,” he signed her.

The answer was hidden surprise in Natasha’s face, so he added more before she could accuse Tony for gaining that information dishonestly.

 

“He’s my brother,” Clint signed and watched Natasha’s jaw drop.

“He’s –“

“Yes,” Clint replied.

“So –“

 

“He’s taking me home. He thinks it would be good for me,” Clint signed.

This time Natasha smiled at him.

“I think it will be,” she agreed, before turning to Tony and hugging him.

 

“I think you two should go,” she told the startled Tony aloud before sauntering out of the room. “Alone!” She added just before leaving.

Tony looked at Clint confused.

Rogers and Bruce exchanged an equally confused look.

 

Clint shrugged.

“I simply told her that you’re taking me with you to give me some distance,” he answered Tony’s confused looked. “And that you want the others to stay so that Fury won’t notice before we’ve left safely…”

Understanding lit Captain America’s eyes before he slapped Tony’s shoulder.

“You should have told us that from the beginning, Stark,” he said while throwing Clint a sympathetic gaze. “If I’d known that you wanted to give Clint some space without anybody knowing, I would have agreed to you two leaving immediately.”

Bruce nodded.

“You don’t have to hide from us that you care, Tony,” he told the still confused billionaire. “We’re a team, after all!”

With that, Rogers and Bruce left as well.

 

Tony blinked before turning to Clint.

“What the hell happened just now, baby bird?” He asked confused.

Clint shrugged.

“I used their compassion against them,” he answered.

Tony groaned, then he shook his head.

“Next time you’ll talk to them all,” he grumbled. “And I just tell Pepper. She at least, is already when I go to a conference and take someone with me to guard me!”

Clint snickered.

“Don’t worry – I bet the others will learn to be happy about that in the future as well,” he consoled Tony. “Let’s go?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Tony agreed. “I’m happy to be out of here.”

Clint snickered.

 

“For now,” he agreed. “That might change when we’ll meet Will in London.”

Sadly enough, that prediction wouldn’t come true.

Will and Tony would get along right away like a house on fire… or well – something like that at least…

 

“You know, my teammate, Benji, he’d love to have some tech from you.”

“You mean he’s a fan?”

“No. He’s forced to use Hammer’s.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. I don’t trust that tech at all.”

“Seems like you have brains.”

“I’m an analyst. Of course I have brains!”

“Being an analyst doesn’t mean that you have brains.”

“I’m also able to reign in Clint.”

“… good point. That definitely means you’re not that bad in the mental department!”

“Hey you two! I’m not that much trouble!”

“Budapest, brother mine.”

“Loki.”

“Rome.”

“SHIELD.”

…

Yeah, those two really got on like a house on fire…

* * *

 

 


	5. Brother, Brother, Oh My...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Fury earns...

* * *

# Chapter V

# Brother, Brother, Oh My...

 

* * *

 

Fury stared incredulous at the papers he had gotten from his legal department. They contained the threat of one Anthony Edward Stark – in black and white.

His eyes narrowed at the documents.

“I’m not giving one of my best assets to an uncontrolled alcoholic,” he said with a growl.

 

Before he could say anything further, a voice spoke up from all around him.

“I don’t think that some people will be happy hearing you calling Ant an ‘uncontrolled alcoholic’,” the male voice said.

Fury’s eyes snapped up towards the ceiling.

Then his eyes narrowed.

“Stark,” he growled. “I will kill you for bugging my office!”

The answer was a laugh from the male voice.

“Oh Director Nicholas Fury Junior,” the male voice said amused. “You’re quite far off with your guess this time around.”

Fury narrowed his eyes at his ceiling.

“Don’t shit me, Stark!” He growled. “You’re the only one who would even dare to bug my office!”

“Na, na, Director – watch your mouth! How’d you know that there’s not a child listening on my side?” The male voice admonished him, still amused.

Fury’s eyes narrowed further.

“Stark!” He growled.

The answer was another short and sharp laugh.

 

“Holmes,” the voice said.

Fury stared at the ceiling in disbelief.

“Are you again trying to threaten me with Holmes?” He asked the voice in disbelief. “I thought you were less repetitive, Stark!”

For a moment, there was silence, then the male voice snorted.

 

“I’m not Stark,” the voice repeated.

Fury opened the voice to object or maybe even curse Stark, but was stopped when the voice continued.

“I’m Holmes,” the male voice said.

 

That stopped Fury’s thought process for a second, before he narrowed his eyes again.

“Very funny Stark,” he said growling. “But I know the true voice of Holmes!”

The answer was another snort.

The next moment, Fury’s phone rang.

He stared at it for a second, before he picked up.

 

“Director Fury,” a well-known voice greeted him coolly.

“Mr. Holmes,” Fury returned, a bit surprised and also angered that he was called in right that moment. He definitely couldn’t talk to Mycroft Holmes while Stark was listening!

But before he could say anything else – before he could stop Mycroft Holmes talking about anything important, Holmes already continued.

“I heard you wanted to talk to me, Director,” Holmes said coolly.

Fury’s eyebrow rose.

“I’d have called you, Holmes, if I’d wanted to talk to you,” Fury said growling.

The answer was another snort from the male voice in his ceiling.

“Well…” the voice drawled. “I thought you might be a bit shy this time considering that Ant decided to involve your and his legal department to free the little bird from your claws…”

“I’ve definitely no trouble with your legal department, Stark!” Fury growled. “You won’t get Barton even if –”

“Barton?” Mycroft Holmes repeated from the phone, startling Fury.

“I’m sorry, Holmes,” Fury forced out gruffly at that. “Stark has hacked into my office or whatever and I need to get rid of him before talking further to you –“

The answer was a sigh from the other side of the phone.

 

“That’s not Stark, Director,” Holmes corrected him, sounding a bit disgruntled, startling Fury.

“What do you mean, Holmes?” Fury asked surprised and a bit confused.

The answer was another sigh.

“You’re currently talking to a Holmes,” Holmes said.

Fury frowned and opened his mouth to object when the voice in his ceiling piped up again.

“D’you believe me now, Director Fury?” The male voice said. “After Myc told you that I’m a Holmes and I myself telling you the same – will you accept that I’m a Holmes?”

Fury’s eyes narrowed.

 

“If you’re a Holmes,” he said slowly. “Then why did you bug my office?”

The answer was a snort.

“That’s easy, Director,” the voice said. “I want you to give in to Ant’s legal demands and release the little bird into his custody – or I might get creative…”

Fury stared at the ceiling icily.

“Are you threatening me?” He asked harshly.

The answer was a sigh from the other side of the phone.

 

“My brother never threatens people,” Mycroft Holmes corrected Fury. “He promises.”

That startled Fury again.

“Are you telling me you’re supporting Stark’s decision to take over Barton’s contract?” He asked in disbelief.

Holmes answer was muffled, as if he was pinching his nose.

“I know that Stark is often enough irresponsible,” Mycroft Holmes said, clearly unhappy. “But you have to admit, that Barton in your hands right now might not be the smartest idea.”

Fury frowned.

 

“I’m –“

“Unable to protect him from the consequences of his enslavement,” Mycroft Holmes interrupted him and Fury wondered where the other man had gained that information from. “Stark on the other hand has already shown that he can protect him – so why do you refuse to hand him over?”

 

“Because Barton is **_my_** asset, Holmes!” Fury growled.

 

“Well, if you don’t hand him over willingly, I will ensure that you will get his resignation a few days from now,” the voice in his office piped up. “If you want to, I can even delete everything you have about Barton to help you…”

With that, Fury’s computer suddenly opened files after files about Barton and his work.

Fury stared at the files.

 

_A hacker!_

_The other Holmes was a hacker!_

 

Fury’s hands immediately turned towards his computer, trying to remove the unknown Holmes’ hold on it, but nothing he did, helped and pulling the plug wouldn’t help as well, considering that the whole thing might be seen on his computer, but the files itself were not stored there at all…

“Holmes!” Fury shouted, meaning Mycroft. “Keep your sibling away from my organization!”

The answer was a snicker from the voice in the ceiling and another sigh from the Holmes on the phone.

 

“If you wish me to control them,” Mycroft Holmes said coolly. “Then you will hand over Barton to Stark. In exchange I will ensure that no sibling of mine will ever enter your organisation again, if you want that.”

For a moment, Fury thought about objecting, but in the end he sighed.

He knew that when Mycroft Holmes was actually on Stark’s side in this, Barton would be lost to him in the end – no matter how much he fought. He liked to see himself as Mycroft Holmes’ equal, but truthfully, Holmes had a lot more influence than Fury ever hoped to gain…

 

“For this to happen, there are some stipulations, Holmes,” Fury said icily.

“Of course,” Mycroft Holmes replied, clearly unconcerned. “I will ensure that you still call upon Barton as a consultant for your cases. You are allowed to list him as such in your database, if you need to. It’s his decision which case he will take, but I’ll make sure that you’ll not be without your man that suddenly. He will also stay on as an Avenger – just like the others. Anything else I missed?”

Fury scowled.

 

“If that’s all, I will ensure that Stark will send you Barton’s contract as a consultant in the next three days,” Holmes said as if he didn’t expect that he had missed anything. “Of course, considering that Barton will leave the country with Stark within the next twenty minutes, it might take some time for him to take on one of your cases.”

Fury startled at that.

 

“He’s leaving the country?” He repeated in disbelief.

“Yes,” the voice in the ceiling said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “He has promised Ms. Potts that he will look after Ant while Ant’s on that conference in Britain.”

Before Fury could even think about answering that statement, Holmes on the phone spoke up.

 

“If that’s all, Director, I will be gone. I’ve a country to run, after all,” Mycroft Holmes said. “Have a good day, Director. And you, Sherrinford – please keep me out of your squabbles the next time around.”

With that, Holmes hung up.

The voice in the ceiling snickered.

 

“Sure thing, big brother,” he said. “Until next time, Director Fury.”

 

A second later, Fury’s computer finally reacted to his touches again.

Fury scowled.

 

It seemed like he would have to pay Stark for a check-up on their computers. Who knew what the other Holmes had done while having control, after all?

The answer would get obvious just a few days later after Fury had handed over Barton’s contract to Pepper Potts.

 

_The files of Barton were **gone**._

_Absolutely **gone**._

 

Well – not all of them. They still had his mission files and some of the medical ones – but everything else, everything personal about Barton was gone.

 

**_Deleted._ **

 

And there was nothing that Fury could do but curse the other Holmes – because this time around it certainly hadn’t been Stark who messed with Fury’s Servers…

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was it. I hope you liked that inside into Fury's side as well.
> 
> 'Till next time.
> 
> Ebenbild


End file.
